Adjustable ripper shank



1964 F. D. PEVELER ETAL 3,120,281

ADJUSTABLE RIPPER SHANK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 27, 1961 INVENTOR.FRANCE PEVELEI? R/C/IARD A. ZAMVDEA A Gem/r 1954 F. D. PEVELER ET AL3,120,281

ADJUSTABLE RIPPER SHANK Filed March 27, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4.FIG.-5

United States Patent 3,120,281 ADJUSTABLE RIPPER SHANK rancc D. Pevelerand Richard L. Launder, Downey, Caifi assignors to H. & L. ToothCompany, Montebeilo, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Mar. 27,1961, Ser. No. 98,572 13 Claims. (Cl. 172699) This invention relates toan adjustable ripper shank and is particularly concerned with a tractormounted ripper, it being a general object of this invention to provideselective adjustment operable to change the angle of a ripper tooth atthe terminal end of the ripper shank.

Tractors, for the most part track-laying tractors, are used in thetreatment and processing of earth and surfaces thereof. Variedimplements are moved by these tractors in order to break through andinto earth formation and to move the same. This invention isspecifically concerned with a tractor and ripper that is pulled by thetractor to penetrate and to upset and move earth formation, that is, togo beneath the surface upon which the tractor is operating and to breakthrough the formation to a certain depth as the tractor moves forward.As a result, a furrow is ripped thereby and along the earths surface. Itis to be understood that said implements can be employed ascircumstances require to rip out obstacles and to tear out surfacepaving, etc.

Tractors with rippers are presently in wide use, comprising a toothcarried by a shank that is supported on a shiftable beam by means of aclevis. The beam is usually hydraulically powered to have a raisedretracted position and a lowered operating position. Since earthformations vary, it is necessary to vary the operating angle of thetooth, this requirement being complicated by the swinging nature of thebeam mounting. That is, when the beam is raised above the loweroperating position, the tooth inclination is too great for properinitial penetration, and in some instances it is, for this reason,virtually impossible to penetrate a hard surface. By the same token,when the beam is lowered to operat ing position the tooth inclination istoo little for continned penetration, and in some instances full depthof ripping cannot be attained. As a result, it is usually difficult togain initial penetration and once said penetration is gained it isdifiicult to rip to a maximum depth. In any case, circumstances arisewhen it is highly advantageous to vary the inclination of the rippertooth, and for this reason ripper shanks are set to operate at severalfixed angles of inclination. However, said fixed settings heretoforeprovided have been widely separated and are not readily selected oraltered.

It is an object of this invention to provide a ripper shank that can beangularly adjusted, in predetermined increments, so that the desiredtooth inclination can be readily selected as circumstances require.

It is another object of this invention to provide a ripper shank that isadjustable and which securely mounts the same. In this instance, theshank is mounted on a beam and is secured to said beam by means of anintermediate clevis member. The shank is pivoted to the clevis and isselectively positioned, incrementally, by turning of a cam member.However, point contact is avoided, it

3,120,281 Patented Feb. 4, 1964 "ice being a further object to avoidpoint contact which is characteristic of cams and in lieu thereofprovide substantial surface contact for transmitting thrust.

It is still another object of this invention to provide an adjustment ofthe character referred to that is easily operated by manual actuation,or otherwise, in a minimum of time and without resort to dismantling themechanism that is involved.

The various objects and features of this invention will be fullyunderstood from the following detailed descrip tion of the typicalpreferred form and application thereof, throughout which descriptionreference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tractor carrying a ripper andattachment therefor.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged detailed view of the attachment of the ripper andincorporating the adjustment features of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view showing the intermediate position of thecam and slot arrangement that characterizes the adjustment means of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are similar to FIG. 3, showing the pivotal arrangement ofthe shank of the ripper, and showing the opposite extreme positionsthereof.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detailed sectional view taken as indicated by line66 on FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a portion of the device and taken as indicatedby line 77 on FIG. 6.

Tractors and rippers therefor, and all machinery of the type underconsideration, are heavy and rugged, and any attachment or additionthereto must be equally heavy and rugged in order to be dependable.Being of large size, such equipment is ordinarily difficult tomanipulate and to assemble and to adjust, and fine adjustment thereof,although to be desired, is ordinarily unobtainable. In the particularcase under consideration the prior art provides a two-positionadjustment for a ripper shank, positioning the shank selectively about15 apart. Such a wide angle of adjustment serves no real practicalpurpose, it being desirable to provide only several degrees ofadjustment per increment thereof. Therefore, to this end the presentinvention is adapted to the positioning of a ripper shank, it beingunderstood that other and like equipment can be selectively adjustedaccording to this invention.

The present invention involves generally a tractor type vehicle X, aripper Y, and a ripper mounting attachment Z adapting said ripper Y tothe vehicle X. The said vehicle X is preferably a continuous tread typevehicle having a body 10 carrying a power plant 11, driving facilities12, and a chassis 13 with wheels supported by tracks 16. The vehicle Xis a traction vehicle adapted to pull implements and the mountingattachment Z and ripper Y are, therefore, located at the rear, as shown.

The ripper Y is adapted to be used in connection with heavy and ruggedearth handling equipment, such as a scarifier, or grubber, or the like.It is a common eX- pedient, in this type of equipment, to rotatablymount the ripper which involves a shank or arm, so that it swings. Saidswinging action is effective in raising and lowering the ripper butresults in changes of inclination of the r 3 tooth point that isprovided to penetrate the earth formation.

The ripper Y involves generally, an arm-like shank A, a tooth point Bcarried at the terminal end of the shank A, and retainer means C tosecure the point B in working position. In FIG. 1 of the drawings theripper Y is show in a retracted and raised position wherein theinclination of the tooth point B is excessive.

The shank A is an arm-like element that is provided to carry a toothpoint B and is adapted to be adjustably supported by the mountingattachment Z. The shank A is elongate having a flat front 21, a fiatback 22, and flat sides 23. The front and back and the sides areparallel with each other respectively, the shank A being rectangular incross-section with the sides 23 substantially closer together than thefront and back 21 and 22. The shank A is preferably uniform incross-section throughout its length with a mounting opening 24intermediate the ends thereof and with a laterally and forwardlyprojecting adapter 25 at its active lower and terminal end. Theadapter'25'comprises upper and lower faces 26 and 27 converging to avertex, there being an opening transversely through the adapter toreceiver a retainer pin.

The tooth point B is a removable element adapted to be secured to theadapter 25 above referred to, and involves a point 30 and a housing 31.The point 30 is a flat plate-like part sharpened at its forward end andhaving a bottom face that has seating engagement with the top 26 of theadapter. The housing 31 is a U-shaped part with side sections spaced toreceive the adapter 25 and with a lower wall that'converges forwardlywhere it joins the point 30. Aligned openings are provided inthe'opposite side sections to receive a retainer pin..

The retainer means C engages through the openings in the adapter andtooth point respectively and it is in the form of a yieldinglyexpansible elongate pin. When in place or in operating position, the pinextends through both the housing and the adapter 25 that occupies thehousing. The pin is a sectional structure involving two like metalsections and coupled together by a separating spreader section; Thespreader section is resilient and is squeezed when the pin is in place,to the end that the tooth point B is urged tightly onto the adapter 25,the said openings being initially ofiset so as to gain this effeet.

In carrying out this invention the mounting attachment Z is employed,which may vary widely in construction and specific details of design.Therefore, the attachment Z is shown rather generally in FIG. 1 of thedrawings, including a clevis D, a beam E, mounting arms F, and actuatingmeans G. The clevis D is swivelly connected to the beam E on a normallyupright axis by means of a bolt50. The beam E is horizontally disposedto extend transversely with the clevis D trailing behind the beam. Theclevis is characterized by a pair of spaced vertically disposed cheeks51 with the shank A carried therebetween and rotatably coupled to theclevis by means of a pivot 52 engaged through the opening24 in theshank. The beam E swings upwardly and downwardly as it is controlled bythe arms F that are pivoted at their forward ends to the vehicle.

A plurality of sets of openings 55 are provided through the cheeks 51 atthe upper'portion of the clevis D, only one set of said openings beingrequired to carry out this invention. However, it is preferred to employboth sets of openings, as shown. The openings 55 occur at the upper endportion of the shank A, each set comprising aligned openings through thetwo cheeks 51, and the sets of openings being spaced circumferentiallywith respect to turning of the shank A at the pivot pin 52. Inaccordance with the invention, one set of openings 55"accommodates theadjustment means -M of the present invention while the other set ofopenings 55 is utilized to locate positioning means associated with saidadjustment means.

to the shaft '74 by providing one or more flats 62 on the. shaft andcooperatively engaged with a face or faces in p a bore through said cam.In any case, the cam 60 is journalled to turn With theshaft 79, saidshaft projecting laterally and having a lever 71 to turn the same.

In order to position the shaft 79 and cam Gil, a series ofcircumferentially spaced recesses 72, 73 and 74 are provided in theshaft 70, and which open radially. In accordance with the inventionthese recesses are spaced apart in order that there will be threepositions for selectively placing the cam 60. his significant that thesaid recesses be so spaced, to be engaged by a pin 76 or the like, tostop the shaft and cam in a predetermined rotative position. In thepreferred form, two through openings pass through the shaft andintersect, and a bar 75 engages over the shaft 70 with the lock pin 76engaged through the selected recess 72, 73, or 74-. The bar is anchoredagainst turning by means of a lug 77 thereon that enters through theother opening 55 in the side check of the clevis D. Thus, the shaft 70'is locked in three selective positions spaced 90 apart.

It is significant that the cam 69 is round and circular in form and thatthe cam slot 8% is elongated with opposed semi-circula-r seats 81 and32. Further, it is significant that the slot 88' is elongated in adirection radially of the pivotal axis at pin '52, and with the opposedsemicircular seats 81 and 82 centered on said radius. A feature of thepresent invention is that the round cam 60 is of a diameter a-nd/ orradius corresponding to the radii of the seats 81 and 82, whereby thecam 60 is adapted to have engagement with either of said seats. Also,the shank being of substantial thickness, the earn 6%) is ofcorresponding thickness with substantial area for hearing contact, thatis, the cam -69 has a Wide peripheral wall 61. V V

In accordance with the invention, the elongation of the slot fit isequal to the throw of the cam 6%, that is the radius between the axis ofshaft 76 and the center of the cam. With this relationship of parts thecam 60 is movable between the seat 81 and seat 82 to engage with eitherof the same.

With the structure hereinabove described, adjustment means M isselectively operable through three positions as clearly shown in "FIGS.4, 3 and 5, respectively:

In FIG. 4 (also FIGS. 1, 2 and 6 the upper. end

and slot mechanism, thereby increasing the inclination of the toothpoint B to a maximum angle. In this position the cam 69 is rotatedforwardly to a stopped position where the radial throw of the cam 69 isnormal to the elongation of t e slot 8% As shown, the cam 68 has 180engagement with the seat 82 and forward thrust, as indicated by thearrow, results in 99 of circumferential pressured engagement of the seatwith the cam.

In FIG. 3 the upper end portion of the shank A is moved rearwardly to anintermediate position by the cam and slot mechanism, thereby decreasingthe inclination of the tooth point B, for example, by an increment of 2.In this position the cam 60' is rotated downwardly and rearwardly to acentral position, through 90 of rotation, where the radial throw of theearn 6% is aligned with the elongation of the slot 8%. Again, the cam"69 has 180 engagement, but with the seat 81, and forward thrust asindicated by the arrow results in 90 of the cam.

in FIG. the upper end portion of the shank A is moved rear-wardly to athird position by the cam and slot mechanism, thereby completelydecreasing the inclination of the tooth point B, for example, by anadditional increment of 2, or a total of 4. In this position the cam 60is rotated upwardly and rearwardly to a stopped position where theradial throw of the cam 60 is again normal to the elongation of the slot80. As shown, the cam '60 has 180 engagement wtih the seat 82 andforward thrust, as indicated by the arrow, results in 90 ofcircumferential pressured engagement of the seat with the cam.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the cam 69 has 180engagement with either seat 81 or 82, in any one of the three positionsspaced 90 apart, as the case may be. Therefore, in each of said threepositions thrust is transmitted through at least 90 of the circumferenceof said cam 60 and with the result that an extremely rugged and durableadjustment means M is provided. It is to be observed that pivotalengagement is established with the part that is positioned, namely, theshank A, and the said means M can be easily operated by simply releasingor removing the pin 76, whereby it is practical to make adjustments atany time, even during operation of the tractor X and ripper andattachment Y-Z.

Having descrimd only a typical preferred form and application of ourinvention, we do not wish to be limited or restricted to the specificdetails herein set forth, but wish to reserve to ourselves anymodifications or variations that may appear to those skilled in the artand fall within the scope of the following claims.

Having described our invention, we claim:

1. Adjustment means for angularly positioning two pivotal-ly relatedparts and comprising, a rotatable cam on one part operable in anelongated slot in the other part, the slot having a seat at one endthereof, and the cam being operable to rotatably spaced positions toengage and stop at the seat.

2. Adjustment means for angularly positioning two pivotally relatedparts and comprising, a rotatable cam on one part operable in anelongated slot in the other part, the slot having spaced seats at theopposite ends thereof, and the cam being operable between oppositerotative positions to engage and stop at one seat and through anintermediate position to engage and stop at the other seat.

3. Adjustment means providing for selective positioning of bearingengagement to position a shiftable part, and including, an elongatedslot in said part and having an arcuate seat at one end thereof, and aconvex cam rotatable between two opposite positions to engage and stopat the seat.

4. Adjustment means providing for selective positioning of bearingengagement to transmit thrust through a shi-ftable part, and including,an elongated slot in said part and having a semi-circular seat at oneend thereof, and a round cam rotatable between two opposite positions toengage and stop at said seat,

5. Adjustment means providing for selective positioning of bearingengagement to transmit thrust through a shi-ftable part, and including,an elongated slot in said part and having spaced semi-circular seats atthe opposite ends thereof, and a round cam rotatable between twoopposite positions to engage and stop at one of said seats and throughan intermediate position to engage and stop at the other of said seats.

6. Adjustment means providing for selective positioning of bearingengagement to transmit thrust through a shiftable part, and including,an elongated slot in said part and having a semi-circular seat at oneend thereof, and a round cam rotatable 180 between two diametricallyopposite positions to engage and stop at said seat.

7. Adjustment means providing for selectively positioning of bearingengagement to transmit thrust through a shiftable part, and including,an elongated slot in said part and having spaced semi-circular seats atthe opposite ends thereof, and a round cam rotatable 180 between twodiametrically opposite positions to engage and stop at one of said seatsand through an intermediate position to engage and stop at the other ofsaid seats.

8. In combination with a vehicle having an attachment to carry a ripperhaving a tooth point disposed forwardly and inclined to penetrate into asupporting surface, a substantially upright shank with said tooth pointat the lower end of the shank, means pivotally mounting the shank tosaid attachment, and adjustment means to angularly position the shankrelative to said attachment and comprising a rotatable cam journalled inthe attachment and operable in an elongated slot in the shank, the slothaving a seat at one end thereof and the cam being operable to rotatablyspaced positions to engage and stop at the seat.

9. In combination with a vehicle having an attachment to carry a ripperhaving a tooth point disposed forwardly and inclined to penetrate into asupporting surface, a substantially upright shank with said tooth pointat the lower end of the shank, means pivotally mounting the shank tosaid attachment, and adjustment means to angularly position the shankrelative to said attachment and comprising a rotatable cam journalled inthe attachment and operable in an elongated slot in the shank, the slothaving spaced seats at the opposite ends thereof, and the cam beingoperable between opposite rotative positions to engage and stop at oneseat and through an intermediate position to engage and stop at theother seat.

10. In combination with a vehicle having an attachment to carry a ripperhaving a tooth point disposed forwardly and inclined to penetrate into asupporting surface, a substantially upright shank with said tooth pointat the lower end of the shank, means pivotally mounting the shank tosaid attachment, and adjustment means to angularly position the shankrelative to said attachment and including, an elongated slot in theshank and having a semi-circular seat at one end thereof and a round camjournalled in the attachment and operable in the slot between twoopposite positions to engage and stop at said seat.

11. In combination with a vehicle having an attachment to carry a ripperhaving a tooth point disposed forwardly and inclined to penetrate into asupporting surface, a substantially upright shank with said tooth pointat the lower end of the shank, means pivotally mounting the shank tosaid attachment, and adjustment means to angularly position the shankrelative to said attachment and including, an elongated slot in theshank and having spaced semi-circular seats at the opposite endsthereof, and a round cam journalled in the attachment and rotatable inthe slot between two opposite positions to engage and stop at one ofsaid seats and through an intermediate positions to engage and stop atthe other of said seats.

12. In combination with a vehicle having an attachment to carry a ripperhaving a tooth point disposed forwardly and inclined to penetrate into asupporting surface, a substantially upright shank with said tooth pointat the lower end of the shank, means pivotally mounting the shank tosaid attachment, and adjustment means to angularly position the shankrelative to said attachment and including, an elongated slot in theshank and having a semi-circular seat at one end thereof and a round camjournalled in the attachment and operable in the slot between twodiametrically opposite positions to engage and stop at said seat.

13. In combination with a vehicle having an attachment to carry a ripperhaving a tooth point disposed forwardly and inclined to penetrate into asupporting surface, a substantially upright shank with said toothReferences Cited in the file of this patent point at the lower end ofthe shank, means pivotally a mounting the shank to said attachment, andadjustment UBITED STATES PATENTS means to angularly position the shankrelative to said 185,383 Billups Dec. 19, 1876 attachment and including,an elongated slot in the 5 1,135,172 Scott Apr. 20, 1915 shank andhaving spaced semi-circular seats at the oppo- 2,676,226 Much-er Apr.20, 1954 site ends thereof, and a round cam journalled in the at-2,704,331 Stott et a1 Mar. 15, 1955 tachment and rotatable 180 in theslot between two 2,998,965 Larson Sept. 5, 1961 diametrically oppositepositions to engage and stop at T T one of said seats and through a 90intermediate position 10 FOREIGN PAENTS to engage and stop at the otherof said seats. 2,136/ 26 Australia May 20, 1927

1. ADJUSTMENT MEANS FOR ANGULARLY POSITIONING TWO PIVOTALLY RELATEDPARTS AND COMPRISING, A ROTATABLE CAM ON ONE PART OPERABLE IN ANELONGATED SLOT IN THE OTHER PART, THE SLOT HAVING A SEAT AT ONE ENDTHEREOF, AND THE CAM BEING OPERABLE TO ROTATABLY SPACED POSITIONS TOENGAGE AND STOP AT THE SEAT.